Grand Bruit

Tag: occupation

  • What To Do When Your Parents Don’t Want You To Become An Artist? 

    By: Grand Bruit 

    January 3, 2026 

    The truth is many people just see their parents during the holidays or they will go visit them a couple times a year. But why not try being a friend to your parents. This is easier said than done. But there are real benefits to this. For instance, parents have more lived experience than we do by definition. Also, we are connected by blood; they are the reason we are alive. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be here. So there is an inherent bond that should be aknowledged first and foremost. 

    Parents appreciate being heard. This involves listening to what they have to say & allowing them to have a voice. Even if we disagree, it shows respect if we don’t give in to arguing and debates and ridicule. 

    How to listen? 

    Don’t be thinking about what to reply while the parent is speaking. Try and receive all the information they have to say, because if we try and formulate the smartest-possible-reply, then we will miss out on important details they are trying to convey. 

    A person shouldn’t assume that he knows everything and that his parent knows nothing. Everyone has a lived experience and deserves grace. 

    Understand that you are missing out by not allowing your parents to be part of your life. 

    Let’s be honest, everyone has a lived trauma, some worse than others though. Without picking too deeply at the wound, the truth is, there may be resentment. Now I’m not a psychiatrist so I won’t pick at the wound too deeply. But try not to suppress your feelings. Try and face them when you’re ready. This should be done under the supervision of a professional mental health practitioner, and perhaps with the usage of a prescribed medication, but it will bring great healing. 

    Let Your Parents See Your Good Reputation In The Community. 

    Imagine your parents come visit your place of employment, what would you want your coworkers or your manager to say to your parents? Clearly your desire would be that your work colleagues would have good things to say to your parents like: “Your daughter is such a hard worker! And she always goes above and beyond! Your daughter has a positive influence on the workplace!”… Etc. Etc. 

    So being a consciencious worker might not be our top priority, let’s be honest. But the truth is, if we have a good reputation in the workplace, our parents will eventually find out, and it will reassure them that we aren’t wasting our time in the art studio being self-employed. 

    It could actually have for effect of making our parents let go of their anxiety regarding our low wage as a struggling artist. This may appear like a miniscule victory, but in reality, is it not true the humongous pressure an artist can feel from family at times? Would it not make sense that reducing this pressure by reassuring the parents, that this can be beneficial for an artist and is not something to be dismissed too quickly? 

    I know, relationships with parents is murky. No one’s story is perfect. We all have disappointments and to a certain extent we carry a degree of shame accumulated over the generations. It’s true, in some cases, differences are irreconcilable. That is regrettable but it’s the reality for some. This article won’t apply to everybody’s situation. I understand that.  

    The Highs And Lows of How People Perceive Artists 

    So, to carry on the discussion towards completion, think about the story told by your art. Art is at once a highly respected trade, and at the same time something that can easily be dismissed. Why is that? It’s partly because absolutely anyone can draw; the first thing kids do is make drawings with colored wax crayons, or make sculptures with Play Doh! Absolutely anyone from age 001 to 100 can do art. It is known that even people terribly handicapped are able to struggle through their pain and symptoms to create beautiful art. 

    But because it is something that absolutely anyone can do, it has almost become something to be dismissed as a generic, meaningless activity. It’s like if someone plays a song on the piano and the response is to dismiss it and say, “Absolutely anyone could play that.” 

    But something that requires great training, like Law, or Medicine, or Engineering, these are things that only few are able to achieve and have great prestige. Has anyone ever heard of parents who were disappointed their child became a Medical Doctor, a Physician? These are great accomplishments. Very few are able to achieve this level of distinction. 

    On the other hand, people will think “Art? Anyone can do that. It is a lesser trade.” That can be hard to deal with, because when an artist shows their piece of art to someone, there is a subconscious thought that people have, along the lines of “It’s literally just a piece of paper. It is nicely colored, but it is only a piece of paper in a frame. What is the value of paper? It is just pulp, a wood product. Paper is so delicate, fragile. It doesn’t last.” But a medical doctor, “Wow. They preserve life. They actually make sick people better. Now that’s a trade.” 

    This is the dilemma for many artists. However, there is reason for optimism, because everyone has a story to tell. We all have a different lived experience and something to bring to the table. And as much as we developped on the fact that anyone can do art; when it is well done, art is one of the highest forms of human achievement. It inspires the strongest, most passionate emotions in people. It allows us to relate to one another and can create a sense of unity among men. 

    So with all this in mind, it can really be a roller coaster, the life of an artist. At once, people are tearing us down and shredding us to pieces, while other people have just been totally inspired by our work. 

    To bring this full-circle to the main theme of this article, when our parents see how our work is actually touching people, when they hear that our work is actually inspiring people and that our work is bringing people together, which is the highest aim of the arts, our parents may begin to see the value of our trade, and of the choice we made to become artists. And the truth is, for most of us, we really do hope our parents approve of our choice of employment. 

    Be open to certain adjustments by showing flexibility 

    Our parents do want the best for us, and sometimes, without giving up our trade, there are areas we can be more comprehensive towards our parents’ wishes. For example, parents will always feel a certain degree of worry about their children because they love them. So what are some methods we can show flexibility with regard to our artistry? 

    Maybe we could benefit from the advice of a parent. For example, what if we are missing out on a marketing opportunity that they point out to us? For example, marketing is partly about getting brand recognition, and perhaps our parent knows about a tried and true method to get exposure? 

    What if they have a photograph of a beautiful landscape and they are sure it could make a nice painting? Why not give it a try and show them the results? This type of collaboration could turn out better than expected! Trying to listen to their advice could be very useful even though it can be painful.  

    The bottom line is, our parents will be reassured if we make good decisions. This can involve seeking out advice from professionals in our field. Or also being someone in the workplace who is known for being helpful. Or also being someone in the workplace who values the ideas of others.  

    Top 8 Ways To Make Parents Happy? 

    • Accept that sometimes you’re going to be wrong, and don’t get upset when someone points out a mistake. The effect that this will have on your growth will be enormous and your parents will be reassured. 
    • Don’t gossip too much about other artists or creatives in the studio. People might start to wonder, “If that’s how he talks about so and so behind their back, then… What are they saying about me?” That could create friction and a sour feeling. If you are careful with that and thus have a good reputation, that will be reassuring to your parents. 
    • Be convincing and unafraid to market your brand with a level of smoothness. This ties into that old myth of being a sell-out. The truth is, good art is good art. If you don’t give up your identity as an artist, you shouldn’t feel bad about marketing your art. It isn’t the marketing that is often the problem. If people can relate to your art, then you’ve done your job. This will reassure your parents because they want to see you grow your business. 
    • Be open to seize opportunities for growth and development of your craft. This can be done in small, daily habits like having a chat with other artists at the studio, or fostering acquaintanceships with others who have lots of experience. It takes confidence to initiate communication and go out of one’s comfort zone. But when we have a good heart-to-heart and really hear someone out, we will see it’s well worth it. This will make our parents happy because they will see we are part of a community, which demonstrates stability and integration. 
    • Have a reasonable attitude towards social events and resist the urge to drink an equal amount of alcohol to the others at the event. Some people are known to over drink, and peer pressure can be very strong, but it’s important to maintain a degree of dignity. Our parents will be happy if they know we won’t end up on social media making a fool of ourselves. That would be really disappointing for them. But it would make them happy to know we are reasonable at social gatherings and are able to make responsible choices, this will certainly help ease their worry about our decision to become an artist. 
    • People will begin to respect you when you begin to make a name for yourself as an artist. People might give you more attention and could begin to give you greater prominence in the community. This newfound distinction comes with greater responsibility, because the bigger they come, the harder they fall, so to speak. It will be reassuring to your parents to know that you are using your voice responsibly on social media or in the community.  
    • Try and avoid big confrontations and heated debates. Usually, even if we are in the right, there will be little pay off and it will just create noise and irritation. The truth is, we may be fighting for a noble cause and may be fighting for what is right. But the truth is, if it gets heated and boils over onto social media, it will just distract from your actual work and the art will end up taking a back seat. So to reassure our parents, we can show them that we don’t get distracted easily or get into heated debates that lead nowhere. This will give them confidence that you are reasonable and able to control yourself when there are arguments. And it will make them sure that you are in control of your emotions. 
    • Control your energy, don’t bite off more than you can chew, but keep marching forward in your projects. Keep making progress in the workplace. You may not be particularly powerful and strong, but the truth is, art is quite an easy trade, all things considered. Most work is do-able by most people. The question is, can the employee remain calm and collected in the process? Because it is clear that when someone is anxious, everything becomes much more difficult and there is a far greater pressure. It’s the difference between taking a walk in jogging pants and sweater, and taking a walk while needing to carry a 100-lbs weight. In the first instance, we could go on for hours. In the secondary case, we’re not getting farther than ten steps perhaps. So by controlling these things and extending our output time, this will boost productivity and be pleasing to our parents. 

    To Be Continued… 

    Cheers, 
    Grand Bruit 

  • Why It’s So Hard To Be A Highly Productive Artist

    By: Grand Bruit 

    Date: Friday, January 2, 2026 

    The problem is that doing art requires a high amount of attention and focus. The desired outcome of this article is to motivate artists everywhere to organize and carry out their work so as to promote high production levels, and good financial results. These favorable results can be achieved by incorporating some of the insights found in this article into one’s workplace routine.

    I can’t stress enough how important it is to follow-through as an artist, because usually, nobody is there to do performance reviews for artists. Artists are swimming in the open seas, often treading water. The purpose of this article is to throw a rescue buoy in a sense, and also to a certain extent, to provide entertaining content under the Grand Bruit brand. 

    Theory: How Low-Productivity Impacts Health 

    Low productivity can lead to an increase in anxiety and stress build-up. Because instead of using our daily energy stores towards productive work, we are keeping all those energy stores bottled up inside. Yet it will have to come out somehow at some point. And that may unfortunately be in the form of agitation and stress and anger. So now let’s look at three Productivity Boosting Methods. 

    Productivity Boosting Method #1: Be Organized Overall And Vehicle Analogy 

    This involves keeping one’s office cublicle clean. This involves keeping a routine in all of life’s auxiliary domains. Family, Social, Work, Health, Housekeeping, Nutrition, Physical Activity, Community, Recreation, Sleep, Hygiene, Clothing, and Grooming. 

    This makes sense because when maintaining a car, a vehicle owner won’t only focus on the car motor. There are so many car parts that contribute to the good functioning of the car. That’s why it is recommended to take a step back and look at one’s situation as a whole. 

    Productivity Boosting Method #2: Be Solutions-Oriented 

    Try and over-ride the desire to go sit on the couch and watch Netflix. Try to make an effort to stay seated at the desk. Do whatever it takes to stay seated at the desk for a good eight hours per day or whichever is your desired schedule. 

    Some folks will tend to get physically cold sitting at the desk and working in their business attire. Try and find a solution that doesn’t involve sitting on the couch and covering one-self in blankets. That will lead to falling asleep and missed work. There are solutions. It may involve wearing a big coat. I’ve done that at work because especially getting towards noon I tend to get cold. It looks bad but it means I can keep working and keep my job. Whatever works, I suppose. 

    Productivity Boosting Method #3: Another Vehicular Analogy 

    A car left sitting in the driveway will often wear out and become un-drivable if left to sit without ever being used. We saw this during the Covid-19 years when people stayed home and had their groceries delivered and never went out. Their car just stopped working from lack of use, and in a sense, lack of love. 

    So what is the point. There is an initial input of stress and energy to get the motor running. Same for a car, same for an artist. There is an initial input of energy to get the motor running and get into a groove. There will be strange noises coming out of the car, but just keep driving. There will be strange impulses in our body while we’re working. A desire to go sit on the couch with all the cushions and blankets. There will be a desire to go and eat some cookies or make a cup of hot cocoa or go order some Uber. That’s a fact. 

    Low productivity is a breeding ground for bad habits. 

    • Poor eating habits 
    • Poor portion choices 
    • Choosing to eat sweets 
    • Choosing to eat high-fat snacks 
    • Choosing to binge eat 

    Because having a side dish of some regular-flavor chips with a chicken salad sandwich at meal time, or a side of barbecue flavored chips along with a side of salad to accompany some fish sticks, that’s all well and good because it’s in moderation and it’s at meal time. 

    The problem is where someone starts to eat an excessive amount of chips. A bag of chips isn’t meant to be consumed in one shot. That can be dangerous for the following reasons: 

    • Deep fried 
    • High saturated fat 
    • High salt content 
    • Empty carbs 
    • Very little nutritional value 
    • High calories but makes the digestive system very unhappy. 

    The problem with this is that it leads to heart burn and poor sleep. Therefore we become unable to wake up on time, leading to missed work in the morning. It becomes a vicious cycle. 

    What is the best way to improve the laziness problem? 

    It is important to understand that laziness oftentimes has its roots in emotional imbalance. Our emotions can sometimes get the best of us and can take control and have for effect of paralyzing us from doing what we’re supposed to unfortunately. Sometimes our emotions can cause us to feel overwhelmed and simply give up under the emotional pressure and distress. We are carrying too heavy a load of negative emotion and it is hindering us from getting our to-do-list completed day by day. 

    To begin analyzing the nature of these emotions, let’s remember what laziness can be defined as. Laziness can be defined as a lack of productivity, lack of industry, accompanied by excessive leisure, rest and wasted time. So, to start listing off the emotions that can lead to this productivity issue, let’s talk about an emotion called fear. 

    How An Emotion Called Fear Can Destroy Productivity 

    Fear can cause someone to avoid going out of the house. To a further degree of harm, fear can even cause someone to avoid getting out of bed. The problem here is that the person who succumbs to fear often writes off the day before even giving it a chance. They are assured in their hearts that “something will go wrong today.” Or perhaps, they are simply terrified that something will go wrong. “Burnout Syndrome” has some roots that are associated with this type of fear.  

    Why is it so common to see individuals become scared to get “on the go”? Another question we could ask is, are these individuals’ fear irrational, or is there some validity here? Well, the opinion of the author is that it isn’t black and white. It’s complicated. To elaborate, there is such a long list of different phobias. The list is infinite I would say. But, what brings them all together is a feeling that we will be harmed by something. Nobody is afraid of something that they know will benefit them 100% and harm them 0%. 

    To go even deeper, people are aware that work is generally a good thing that is also honorable and respected. But there can be observations made about how many people get injured on the job, or deal with bullying on the job, or deal with dangerous levels of fatigue, or have a risk of being incompetent at their job and being shamed for it, or the risk of missing out on the fun things in life because of spending all one’s days working. 

    The list of fears someone could have related to the workplace is absolutely infinite. It’s, like, infinity time 10. Or infinity times infinity. It really is an endless list. On the flip side, however, the benefits far outweigh the potential harm. Obviously, that is something that can be debated.  One remedy to fear would certainly be to recognize one’s fears. After recognition, would come facing one’s fears. Perhaps analyzing one’s fears, consulting a mature friend or a trusted acquaintance. A degree of fear never hurt anyone, but when it paralyzes someone, or is irrational, there is room to try and solve that. 

    Tried and True Method #1: Don’t Take What You Have For Granted 

    Sometimes we get that the feeling of guilt for being unproductive. But there are methods to break the cycle. First off on the list of tricks to break the cycle is remembering, that barring exceptions, the harms of working are lesser than the harms associated to not working. 

    For example, a few of the harms associated to not working include falling behind on bills due to no income coming in. Also, poor health due to a sedentary lifestyle. As well, low self-esteem. Not to mention the low opinion people have of people who are on welfare. Also, isolation due to staying at home. Also, risk of homelessness. Also, risk of drug addiction. 

    However, let us admit that there are potential harms associated to being employed and in the work force. It’s true, each person has the right to decide as to what they will pursue. But the truth is that, barring exceptions, humans do better when occupied and invested in projects that require effort. 

    Tried and True Method #2: Most Successful Businesspeople Put In The Effort 

    Also, when analyzing the facts, we come to notice that people who are successful at business tend to put in the hours and put in a lot of effort to grow their business. However, effort has to be balanced with strategy as we often see in various podcast themes. Podcasts will say that it isn’t all about hard work. Which is true. But someone who really applies themselves to their work and put in long hours have a greater chance of success. Obviously we have to mention that success is defined in different ways by different people. And also, great effort in one domain of life, will require sacrifices made in other domains of one’s life. So we each have to choose where we want our priorities to be. 

    But, beyond that fact, it’s important to recognize that companies don’t grow by accident. Usually it’s by lots and lots of sweat. Let’s simplify this with an example: When a business owner works hard to fulfill a contract on time and with good quality, he will be rewarded. On the other hand, when someone procrastinates and refuses to put in the effort, they end up leaving everything to the last minute. This will greatly disappoint a client who will quickly take their business elsewhere. 

    To take this line of thought a bit further, let’s reflect on the fact that, (again, barring exceptions), when someone regularly gets up early as a routine and gets to the office early, they are inherently setting themselves up for success. They are creating the right routine. When a business owner has a good routine, and is able to crank out production, they have a higher chance of success. 

    How Lifestyle Is Affected By Someone’s Productivity At Work 

    So, to continue the discussion, let’s talk about what kind of lifestyle could be enjoyed through hard work. Let’s be clear, there are serious problems that could come about regarding lifestyle quality when someone refuses to do their job at the office. If they lost their well-paying job and had to settle for something minimum wage for example, they may not be able to pay for their house any longer. People working minimum wage may not be able to afford food, period. They may be forced to go to a food bank where the selection is far inferior to the grocery store. That is a very hard pill to swallow and I mention this as a warning to wake anyone up reading this who finds it difficult to get motivated at work.  

    Because, we may be living in a great place, a comfortable home, and we might begin taking that for granted, but it can all go away if we lose our job for being incompetent and unreliable and sluggish. I’m not trying to cast judgment on anyone, God loves everyone and I have no right to judge. We here at Grand Bruit simply want to help people develop a perspective that can actually be quite motivational and can give people the drive to be a self-starter and to have the life they desire. I’m not going to go into detail on my own beliefs on ethics. Maybe in another blog. But here at Grand Bruit we just want to help people develop the tools to succeed. The last thing I would want is to hold back information that could benefit someone. 

    Let me try to explain. If someone took their nice home for granted and began reducing efforts at work and reducing productivity output and began to take it easy, the risk of losing a good job because of negligence or lack of motivation is very high. So all we are trying to say is to take nothing for granted in this sense 

    To be continued… 

    Cheers 

    Grand Bruit